3D printers: A cheap solution for amputees and those with genetic defects From: ECN blogs - 11/06/2013 By: Allegra Sparta Advanced prosthetics, ones that rival the real thing, with mobile digits and functioning limbs, can set the user back tens of thousands of dollars, a financial hit most aren’t willing, or able, to take. Enter the 3D printer, a device that can turn a home into a tiny factory that produces objects made out of bent plastic. While one of these printers can set you back a few thousand dollars, the opportunities that appear after the initial investment make the cost worthwhile. Read the entire article at: http://www.ecnmag.com/blogs/2013/11/3d-printers-cheap-solution-amputees-and-those-genetic-defects Link: Dad Uses 3D Printer to Make His Son a Prosthetic Hand (with video 2:56) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/04/dad-prints-prosthetic-hand-leon-mccarthy_n_4214217.html Boy gets prosthetic hand made by 3-D printer (with video 2:55) http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/boy-gets-prosthetic-hand-made-by-3-d-printer/ Related: Robohand uses 3D printing to replace lost digits http://www.ecnmag.com/news/2013/09/robohand-uses-3d-printing-replace-lost-digits?cmpid=related_content Amputee to climb stairs of Chicago skyscraper using thought-controlled bionic leg http://www.ecnmag.com/news/2012/10/amputee-climb-stairs-chicago-skyscraper-using-thought-controlled-bionic-leg?cmpid=related_content App lets amputees skip office visit, take programming bionic limbs into their own hands http://www.ecnmag.com/news/2013/05/app-lets-amputees-skip-office-visit-take-programming-bionic-limbs-their-own-hands?cmpid=related_content